A “wiki” kind of approach is being borrowed for other spheres, including patent examinations. A simple idea, yet a brilliant one (as most inventions in patent law are). The August 21, 2006 issue of fortune reports: The problem: an epidemic of shoddy patents.The solution: Wikipedia?That’s the basic concept behind a pilot program sponsored by IBM(Charts) and other companies, which the U.S. Patent and TrademarkOffice appears poised to green-light. The project would apply anadvisory version of the wiki approach to the…

The Hindu Reports: In its bid to try for a patent for Goan Cashew Fenni, a unique local brew, the State Government has set up study committees under the nodal agency — Patent Facilitation Centre — to unearth historical information on fenni to establish its Geographical Indicators (GI).Joint Secretary and Director of Department of Science, Technology and Environment (STE) N.P.S. Varde, who heads the nodal agency, told The Hindu that the process of getting the patent is elaborate. Nevertheless, the…

It is interesting to see a rep from the worlds biggest patent filer (IBM) speak of open standards and a collaborative model of innovation. This FE piece states: “Given the complexity of our most pressing societal problems and the diversity of skills and resources required to solve them, innovation will increasingly require collaboration on a broader scale then ever before. Since innovation transcends the invention of new technologies— it is the application of these technologies to some useful purpose —it…

The Financial Times reports: The Controller General of Patents last week granted the first product patent in pharmaceuticals to Roche India Pvt Ltd, the Indian arm of Swiss drugmaker F Hoffmann La Roche, for its biotech drug Pegasys (Peinterferon apha-2a), official sources told FE. ….The company had applied for the patent under the Mailbox facility for post-1995 inventions. Pegasys, a recombinant DNA technology drug, is one of the advanced drugs in the Interferon series of proteins, which has varied end…

The controversial Gleevec mailbox application has been decided, and not too surprisingly the decision went against Novartis. For those unfamiliar with the concept of a mailbox application, here is a short explanation from one of my articles: “India amended her patent regime in 1999 to provide that applications claiming pharmaceutical inventions would be accepted and put away in a mailbox, to be examined in 2005–these applications are commonly referred to as ‘mailbox applications’. This amendment was in pursuance of a…

After the US and the UK, Ranbaxy suffers another patent defeat over multibillion dollar drug Lipitor in Finland. Like the US and the UK, it will appeal here as well. Thus far, its only victory has been in Austria. The Financial Express states: In another setback to India’s biggest drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, a court in Finland has prohibited it from marketing its generic version of Pfizer’s cholesterol lowering drug Lipitor in the country.The Helsinki court of appeal in Finland…

One of the first posts on this blog related to Avian Flu. Little did I know that I would have to post again–as the notorious bird flu makes it way to India. As expected, it has brought with it the patent controvery as well. A news item states: “The bird flu threat has become a litmus test for the government on how it would use the patent law flexibility to cope with a public health issue that could potentially be…

CSIR was always part of this list (taken from www.pharmabiz.com). Good to see that Ranbaxy features here too. It will be a while though before we catch up with South Korea which dominates here. “India stands third in the list of international patent applications filed by developing countries in 2005, and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Ranbaxy Laboratories are among the top ten users of the PCT from developing countries. The top ten users of the…

A spate of new GI registrations in India. “The Geographical Indications Registry has granted GI certificate to Bidriware from Bidar, Channapatna toys and dolls, Nanjangud banana, Coorg orange, Mysore betel leaf, Mysore rosewood inlay, Mysore traditional paintings and Mysore agarbathi, thereby enabling producers and inventors to prevent others from exploiting their products without permission.”“We have accorded certificates to these items/products. The certificate owners will be the registered proprietors of the GI concerned,” an official with the Geographical Indications Registry told…

An interesting piece (titled “India lags in number of IT patents”) on the low levels of software patents in India, despite India’s global excellence “India may be the world leader in information technology but it trails in a big way when it comes to patents in the IT sector.While the top 10 patents holders across the world are IT companies, in India, no IT firm has patents. The list of top 10 patents holders in India comprises only pharmaceutical and…

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Leading IP Academics Fired

This protest petition against unfair dismissals of Prof. N. S. Gopalakrishnan, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) Chair Professor at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) and Prof. Yogesh Pai, MHRD Chair Professor at National Law University at Jodhpur, is now closed.

It was posted on SpicyIP blog on August 28, 2013 by Prof. Shamnad Basheer. Link to petition here: http://spicyipindia.blogspot.in/2013/08/leading-ip-academics-fired-protest.html